Fresh rules could increase OTTs' compliance burden

Mumbai: New accessibility rules proposed by the government could significantly increase the compliance burden on India's OTT industry, potentially requiring platforms to retrofit thousands of hours of films and shows in their existing catalogue to meet new standards, legal experts and industry executives said.

The draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2026, published by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), would make Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) accessibility standards applicable to websites, mobile applications, software and digital content.

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Its scope covers establishments in India and overseas that make such products or services available to people in India. While OTT platforms are not specifically named in the draft, it says the rules would cover online curated content providers (OCCPs), including international platforms operating in India. The framework would operate alongside the Information Technology Rules for OTTs and other digital platforms and the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB)'s accessibility guidelines for OTT platforms.

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Where the draft rules conflict with sectoral requirements, the higher or more stringent accessibility standard would prevail, raising concerns about overlapping obligations. The biggest challenge could be legacy content. "Large platforms host tens of thousands of hours of catalogue content. Making all of this content accessible within a short period would require significant time, money and manpower," an industry expert with a large media company said, requesting not to be quoted.

Platforms with turnover of ₹500 crore or more are proposed to be given one year to comply with specified non-negotiable provisions, while smaller establishments would get 18 months. All establishments would have to fully comply with the prescribed accessibility standards within two years.

Older films and shows could be particularly difficult to retrofit because original licensing agreements may not have included accessibility requirements. Platforms may have to revisit contracts with producers and arrange for accessibility features to be added to legacy content.

The draft exempts archived content, but defines it as material clearly identified as archived, not intended for active public use or update and retained only for record purposes.